DNA
Pakistan has successfully raised $3 billion through a landmark dual-tranche Eurobond transaction, the largest-ever international bond issuance by the country in a single transaction, the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday.
The transaction attracted nearly $6bn in orders, almost twice the amount issued, from a broad and diversified base of institutional investors across global markets and continents.
The offering comprises $1.75bn through a 5.5-year Eurobond carrying a coupon of 7.5% and $1.25bn through a 10-year Eurobond at 7.9%.
The ministry said strong demand across both maturities, particularly for the 10-year tenor, demonstrated Pakistan’s ability to mobilise sizeable longer-term financing as international investors reassessed the country’s improving macroeconomic and credit fundamentals.
“The competitive pricing across both maturities, together with strong demand extending to the 10-year tenor, demonstrates Pakistan’s ability to mobilise sizeable longer-term financing,” the ministry said.
It said the demand reflected investors’ reassessment of Pakistan’s improving macroeconomic and credit fundamentals.
The transaction also marked an important milestone in the government’s broader road-to-market strategy and was the first issuance under the country’s renewed Global Medium-Term Note (GMTN) Programme.
The move follows Pakistan’s inaugural Panda Bond and successive improvements in its sovereign credit profile. The ministry said the renewed GMTN programme would provide a platform for more diversified access to international capital markets.
It stressed that the government’s objective was “not simply to raise additional debt”, but to pursue active sovereign liability management.
The strategy involves diversifying financing sources, extending debt maturities, reducing refinancing and rollover risks, and replacing shorter-term and more expensive obligations with longer-duration financing where economically beneficial.
Pakistan has already pursued substantial early retirement of domestic debt ahead of maturity, and the ministry said the same approach was being extended to external financing.
“Borrow better. Extend maturities. Diversify funding. Reduce refinancing risk. Improve the sovereign debt profile,” it said.
The ministry said Pakistan’s economic trajectory over the past three years had been increasingly recognised through successive sovereign credit-rating upgrades and improved access to international markets.
It said the depth of the order book, geographical diversity of investors and strong demand for the 10-year bond offered a “powerful market-based signal of renewed confidence” in the country’s medium- and long-term trajectory.
“Now, global investors have reinforced that assessment with billions of dollars of actual capital,” the ministry said.
It nevertheless acknowledged that the reform process was not complete, with fiscal discipline, structural reforms, export competitiveness, investment and productivity requiring continued attention.
The ministry described the transaction as a landmark moment in Pakistan’s progression from economic stabilisation towards sustainable growth, while crediting the Debt Management Office with a pivotal role in executing the deal.
The latest issuance follows Pakistan’s April 2026 Eurobond transaction, when the government initially raised $500m through a three-year bond.
The issue was subsequently increased to $750m through a $250m green-shoe option after stronger-than-expected investor demand. The bond matures in April 2029.
Pakistan had also repaid a $1.4bn Eurobond that matured in April, helping the government re-establish a pricing benchmark in international debt markets.
